Part one - The reaper
by Yukiko832
Summary: This is a story about a reaper, life and death and the mishaps in-between.


**This is a story, a story about a reaper, a story about life, death and the mishaps in-between.**

I don't have a name, infact, we are all just called "reaper".  
Everyday is the same mundane thing. We write down the name of the person scheduled to die, make sure it's executed the way it was designed, head home and start again. Well there is more to it than that.

Each of us has a book, that to anyone else looks like a huge blank journal. But what we see are names, dates and times.  
Rules are as follows, you have to pick a person on the list, follow them around for the last month of their life, watch how they live and how they are around others. Until the day comes, death day.  
Now things must be done according to letter, lest not the balance be disrupted. That's something the head honchos back at base are really strict on. It has to be the exact day, time and place. Or else other peoples lives are taken into consideration to fix the imbalance.

Say for instance, it's your turn. I'd follow you around for your last month alive, observe you, record anything worth noting about you, something you may have accomplished in life, a milestone in your relationship, or the birth of a new life. Nothing can be done when it's your time though. That's just how it is.  
Except the time when you set things in motion on the wrong date. Like me. See I could have sworn it was the 12th of the 2nd 2002. Not the 2nd of the 12th 2002. Too many twos, I mixed up, big time. The bosses were surely going to have me for this. But what kind of punishments do reapers get for messing up anyway?  
I'd never actually bothered to ask, because they were always so strict on us, nobody else had made this kind of mistake yet either.  
Either way I was worried.

But let me tell you about the human who's life I watched for the past month, thinking it was their time to die.

It was a woman. Quite a pretty one at that. She was alone in that of having a partner, she wasn't seeking one out though either. Though there were many catching glimpses of her whenever they could. She had a sort of plain look to her, something that kept people staring, as she wasn't like all the other girls, all dolled up. She did put effort in her appearance, it just wasn't as much of a cry for attention as most women.

She had two younger brothers, whom she was very close too. Jason and Will. They would get together on weekends to visit each other. Sometimes for drinks and sometimes to visit their folks.  
She didn't have much luck with work and was constantly finding new jobs in her area. But she never let it get her down. She had a loving family and close friends.  
It was a shame I tried to take that from her.

The date being the twelfth of February in the year 2002. Just before valentines, not that she had someone in mind for this occasion mind you.  
Now according to my book, she was meant to be walking past a stall of flowers, with both men and women buying flowers for their respective valentines. Someone was meant to bump her whilst looking at the stall and she stumbled into the street and has an unfortunate accident with a speeding motorist.  
I'd read the description that many times that I wasn't even sure I would react at finally witnessing it.

Yet here we are, the stand, the men and women and her, Jane. She was admiring some white and red roses when she was bumped by a larger gentleman, the force knocking her into other people, one a frail elderly woman, who stepped out into the street, dropping her groceries. Jane stopped to help her pick up her things and the elderly woman and Jane both went their separate ways.

But that wasn't how it was meant to happen. Jane was meant to be taken out by a motorcycle. I was in such a shock I just stood on and watched the rest of the world continue on. I stood their for so long I almost lost sight of Jane.  
Just as I caught her walking through the local strip mall, I was summoned back to base.

Being summoned had to be the worse kind of feeling, like that sick feeling you might have experienced in your sleep, where you feel like you are falling, or when you are walking up some stairs and think there are more steps than there actually are and your foot falls from underneath you. Like that mixed with a really bad hangover and the need to be sick. So you never really look good standing before your superiors when you look like you are scared to be sick.  
Yet nonetheless I tried maintaining composure.  
Standing before a group of higher up reapers known as Seers. Us grunts called them "stiffs". They always seem so emotionless and lifeless. Only talk work and have no time for small talk.  
I'd never met one before today, but still joined in whenever someone wanted to whinge about them.  
To us they never did any work, they governed us from the shadows, kept us in line with all their rules, but were just glorified babysitters. Being in their presence was somewhat stifling. So on top of scared to be sick, now I couldn't breathe.

They all seemed to speak in unison too. I had no idea what had just happened down there with Jane and now I was to be punished.

"Reaper," a monotone voice spoke out in unison. "You have been summoned here for violation the one rule given to you"

"What's that rule again.." I managed to mumble.

"The sacred rule meant to keep the world's balance in order, one must not take a life before it is meant to be taken, yes?"

"Uhh.. well yes but my list said Jane was meant .."

"Check it again" Their deep voices low and groaning.

As instructed I opened my palm to which my book opened to the page containing Jane's name and death date.  
It was in fact the 2nd of December in the year 2002 that she was meant to die, not the 12th of February.  
I had made the biggest mistake anyone could make.  
How could this be fixed, what was going to happen to me?

The Seers all sighed as I looked up from the pages with a half grin, hoping that they would see my blunder and not punish me too severely.

"For us to fix this imbalance for you trying to take a life too early, you will be recycled"

My eyes widened. What did that mean? I saw how humans recycled, did we have means like that for us reapers? I didn't want to find out.

They all slowly lifted their hands, pointing at me. "As punishment, you will now spend the rest of Jane's remaining life with her"

That isn't so bad, I thought to myself. So what I watch her for another ten months?

"As a human"

And before I knew it, another feeling swept over me, none like being summoned, this was infact worse, much, much worse.


End file.
